This invention relates generally to sealable envelopes and more particularly to a unique envelope arrangement which includes inner and outer sealing flaps whereby the envelope may be reused and resealed after its initial sealing and opening.
In the delivery of good and rendering of services to customers, it is commonly the practice to periodically prepare statements of accounts or billings, and insert the statement in an envelope and mail that to the customer or purchaser. In conducting business in this manner, a considerable expenditure is made in preparing the statements, inserting the statements in the envelope and sealing the envelopes. Of significance is that the speed with which the bills are paid or replied to is greatly enhanced by the presence of a return envelope in the hands of the customer. In view of this, it is commonly the practice to insert such a return envelope with the statement in the first envelope, necessitating additional expenditure of time, labor, materials as well as possibly increasing postage fees. If the customer is required to provide the return envelope for payment of the bill, there is also an increase in the chance of the return payment being mis-addressed and thereby being lost or misrouted by the post office department, further increasing the time and expense of account collection. Thus, it is desirable to provide the customer with some type of return mailing envelope for the convenience of the customer and for enhancing the speed of return payment receipt. However, it would be extremely desirable if this could be accomplished without the necessity of including a separate return envelope along with the initial statement so that a savings in mailing and material costs and time and energy could be achieved.